Yahoo Finance Sedona Prince throws down dunk in warmups, lifts No. 6 Oregon to fourth straight Sweet 16
There are now two No. 6 seeds to clinch a spot in the Sweet 16 with a chance at another later Wednesday.
No. 6 Oregon relied on the height and skill of forwards Nyara Sabally and Sedona Prince to cut through No. 3 Georgia's stout defense in the second round of the NCAA women's tournament. The Ducks won, 57-50, to play in the fourth consecutive Sweet 16 in program history in the Alamo.
Oregon joins No. 6 Michigan, which took down No. 3 Tennessee in the River Walk region. No. 6 Texas plays No. 3 UCLA in the Hemisfair later Wednesday. The final sixth seed, Rutgers, was upset by BYU in the first round.
Prince keeps up big week
Prince controlled the game down low with a game-high 22 points with five rebounds, four blocks, two steals and an assist. The 6-foot-7 redshirt sophomore was up against Georgia's star post Jenna Staiti, who finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Before the game she threw down a dunk in warmups that caught the ESPN studio and booth off guard.
WE'RE READY 😤#GoDucks x @sedonaprince_ pic.twitter.com/Bw6z5YNQLR
— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) March 24, 2021
The young star is having a big tournament so far. She laid out the inequalities between NCAA weight rooms in a TikTok heard 'round the country last week and will get to keep using the upgraded facilities through the weekend. In the first game of the tournament she chipped in 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting.
Sabally leads fourth quarter push for Oregon
Sabally, the younger sister of Oregon alumna and Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, took over in the fourth quarter with easy open looks under the basket. The 6-foot-5 redshirt sophomore from Germany neared a double-double with 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Her six straight points with 2:20 on the clock lifted Oregon from its 48-48 tie.
Sabally full send ⏩ @OregonWBB#ncaaW pic.twitter.com/HaQrrcr7nh
— NCAA Women’s Basketball (@ncaawbb) March 24, 2021
Prince and Sabally both dealt with injuries that required extensive rehab and shared a long hug after the final buzzer. Prince broke both lower bones in her leg while playing for USA Basketball and is playing in front of her home state Texas fans in San Antonio. Sabally had two ACL tears that kept her from playing with her older sister at Oregon.
"It makes me want to cry. I watched since I was in the 4th grade playing basketball of people celebrating these kind of moments in March"
Sedona Prince and the Oregon Ducks are headed to the Sweet 16#GoDucks | @sedonaprince_ | @OregonWBB pic.twitter.com/2avMh2XmLC— Orlando Sanchez (@orlandokgw) March 24, 2021
Ducks turn up in second half
The Ducks trailed, 12-10, through one and took a 27-27 defensive game into the half. It was the third quarter that made a difference as Oregon outscored Georgia, 13-6. Sabally and Prince each scored four points in the half while keeping Staiti to one bucket. Erin Boley added three in the quarter and finished within nine, six from 3-pointers.
The shots from range were the difference. Oregon hit five of their 12 attempts with buckets from Boley, Taylor Mikesell and Maddie Scherr. Georgia made one of 13 attempts.
Senior Gabby Connally made the one 3-pointer coming off the bench. Georgia switched up its starting lineup for the first time this season in the tournament opener. Staiti, who had an undisclosed medical reason, and Connally both came off the bench in the first round. Staiti got the start on Wednesday.
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